Religion and Society7 Religion Origin of All Things Nature of God View of Human Nature View of Good and Evil View of “Salvation” View of After Life Practices and Rituals Celebrations and Festivals Week 1 Indigenous People They have several questions about the creation and arrangement of the universe. The answers to these questions give the way for explaining everything we know (Shoko, 2007).Understanding the universe allows us to make sense of the world that we live in, but the attempt to understand it and the underlying nature of all things is difficult. Their existed a god beyond the natural world, who was responsible for the creation of the universe (Radhakrishnan,1947).This perspective is based on the idea that a supreme being exists beyond our visibility. That, this god watches over everybody’s actions and that he is the ultimate solution that people run to while seeking help in times of crisis Human beings must be in a position of creating a just environment that ensures comprehensive existence of individuals (Shoko, 2007). Human beings should act as rational beings in the process of making decisions pertaining creation of justice, correcting the wrongdoings and education of the upcoming generations on the correct norms and values that should be adhered to. An individual who doesn’t conform to the societal norms and customs is considered as an outcast, and might even be disowned by the community members. Such a person is seen as an evil doer who should be stigmatized in the entire community. So this means that the good deeds are rewarded while the evil ones are punished (Radhakrishnan, 1947). Salvation is an ultimate element. They are committed on the strict adherence to the preset norms and beliefs. The belief system is very strict such that they have to adhere to so as to ensure their prosperity in the society. There is existence of life after death. This is due the perspective that, the children who are born into the society are often renamed after their ancestors so as to extend their lineage. They have got the belief that those ancestors are watching over them and protect them from any evil deeds. The practices and rituals are unique in that, they are considered as being sacred, and that is why they are handled in a very responsible manner (Radhakrishnan,1947). Such practices and rituals are performed by specific people who are considered as being holy and goodhearted. Are performed each and every season at specified time frames depending on the type of celebration. The ultimate aim is to bring together the society members. Week 2 Hinduism and Jainism Hindus believe that the nature and origin of all thing were from their main god called Brahma They believe in the existence of one main god other gods with different descriptions that is being polytheistic They view human beings as creatures of God and that creation take place after a new universe is created. Brahma gave rise to 7 sages which later populates the world. Good ...

1. Religion and Society7
Religion
Origin of All Things
Nature of God
View of Human Nature
View of Good and Evil
View of “Salvation”
View of After Life
Practices and Rituals
Celebrations and Festivals
Week 1
Indigenous People
They have several questions about the creation and arrangement
of the universe. The answers to these questions give the way for
explaining everything we know (Shoko, 2007).Understanding
the universe allows us to make sense of the world that we live
in, but the attempt to understand it and the underlying nature of
all things is difficult.
Their existed a god beyond the natural world, who was
responsible for the creation of the universe
(Radhakrishnan,1947).This perspective is based on the idea that
a supreme being exists beyond our visibility. That, this god
watches over everybody’s actions and that he is the ultimate
solution that people run to while seeking help in times of crisis
Human beings must be in a position of creating a just
environment that ensures comprehensive existence of
individuals (Shoko, 2007). Human beings should act as rational
beings in the process of making decisions pertaining creation of
justice, correcting the wrongdoings and education of the
upcoming generations on the correct norms and values that
should be adhered to.
An individual who doesn’t conform to the societal norms and

2. customs is considered as an outcast, and might even be
disowned by the community members. Such a person is seen as
an evil doer who should be stigmatized in the entire community.
So this means that the good deeds are rewarded while the evil
ones are punished (Radhakrishnan, 1947).
Salvation is an ultimate element. They are committed on the
strict adherence to the preset norms and beliefs. The belief
system is very strict such that they have to adhere to so as to
ensure their prosperity in the society.
There is existence of life after death. This is due the
perspective that, the children who are born into the society are
often renamed after their ancestors so as to extend their lineage.
They have got the belief that those ancestors are watching over
them and protect them from any evil deeds.
The practices and rituals are unique in that, they are considered
as being sacred, and that is why they are handled in a very
responsible manner (Radhakrishnan,1947). Such practices and
rituals are performed by specific people who are considered as
being holy and goodhearted.
Are performed each and every season at specified time frames
depending on the type of celebration. The ultimate aim is to
bring together the society members.
Week 2
Hinduism and Jainism
Hindus believe that the nature and origin of all thing were from
their main god called Brahma
They believe in the existence of one main god other gods with
different descriptions that is being polytheistic
They view human beings as creatures of God and that creation
take place after a new universe is created. Brahma gave rise to 7
sages which later populates the world.

3. Good deeds come from their god and by believing in them your
thoughts change from evil to good.
They follow the teachings of Vedas which stresses on respect to
scriptures to gain salvation.
Reincarnation is their major belief. They belief in rebirth into a
higher rank in the society.
These activities are considered sacred and hence respected
according to the scriptures. They are usually done in special
areas such as shrines and temples.
These are conducted at a specific time upon achievement of
something could be rebirth or anything else.
Week 3
Buddhism
It originated from northern India in the fifth century B.C and
traces it origin to Gotama
The tradition traces its origin to Siddhartha Gautama (or
Gotama), who is typically referred to as the Buddha (literally
the "Awakened" or "Enlightened One")
Human existence, in the Buddha's view, is nothing more than a
composite of five aggregates (khandas): 1) Physical forms
(rupa) 2) Feelings or sensations (vedana) 3) Ideations (sanna)
4)Mental formations or dispositions (sankhara) 5)Consciousness
(vinnana)
These khandas come together at birth to form a human person.
A person is a "self" in that he or she is a true subject of moral
action and karmic accumulation, but not in the sense that he or
she has an enduring or unchanging soul.
The Buddhist understanding is that good and evil is innate,
inseparable aspects of life. This view makes it impossible to
label a particular individual or group as "good" or "evil." Every
single human being is capable of acts of the most noble good, or
the basest evil.
For a Buddhist salvation is reaching Nirvana. Nirvana is a

4. transcendental, blissful, spiritual state of nothingness--you
become a Buddha.
Buddha believes that what keeps us bound to the death/rebirth
process is desire, desire in the sense of wanting or craving
anything in the world. Hence, the goal of getting off the Ferris
wheel of reincarnation necessarily involves freeing oneself from
desire
The practice of meditation is central to nearly all forms of
Buddhism, and it derives directly from the Buddha’s
experiences and teachings. Meditation is is the central focus of
Zen Buddhism and the only way to liberation in Theravada
Buddhism.
There are many special or holy days held throughout the year by
the Buddhist community. Many of these days celebrate the
birthdays of Bodhisattvas in the Mahayana tradition or other
significant dates in the Buddhist calendar. The most significant
celebration happens every May on the night of the full moon,
when Buddhist all over the world celebrates the birth,
enlightenment and death of the Buddha over 2,500 years ago. It
has become to be known as Buddha Day.
Week 4
Daoism and
Confucianism
Daoism stands alongside Confucianism as one of the two great
religious/philosophical systems of China. Traditionally traced to
the mythical Laozi “Old Philosopher,” Philosophical Daoism
owes more to “philosopher Zhuang” (Zhuangzi) (4th Century
BCE). Daoism is an umbrella that covers a range of similarly
motivated doctrines. The term “Daoism” is also associated with
assorted naturalistic or mystical religions.
Daoism or Taoism is primarily a Philosophy thus they do not
have a personal god. Their god maybe classified under
Pantheism ("it literally means, "God is all" and "All is God".)
According to the earliest Taoist texts, when human nature is

5. aligned with the rest of nature, order and harmony are the
result. From this perspective, the purpose of self-cultivation is
to return to a mode of existence that is natural, but has been
obscured by social conditioning
Taoists do not recognize the theme of good against evil; rather
they see the interdependence of all dualities, thus the yin and
yang concept of opposites. Any action has some negative (yin)
and some positive (yang) aspect to it
The realist, down- to-earth nature of Confucianism is
highlighted in a discourse on the shortcomings of Buddhism by
the Confucian scholar Hu Yin (1098-1156): “Man is a living
thing; the Buddhists speak not of life but of death. Human
affairs are all visible; the Buddhists speak not of the manifest
but of the hidden. After a man dies he is called a ghost; the
Buddhists speak not of men but of ghosts. What man cannot
avoid is the conduct or ordinary life; the Buddhists speak not of
the ordinary but of the marvelous.
In no area is the lack of a single unified Taoist belief system
more evident than in the case of concepts about the afterlife and
salvation. Several factors have contributed to this: 1) Taoism
was at no point the only religion of China, but, rather, coexisted
with Confucianism and Buddhism, as well as with Chinese folk
religion; 2) each Taoist sect had its own beliefs and textual
traditions, and these underwent changes over time; and 3) death
and the afterlife became the province of Buddhism early in
Chinese history, so that most ideas about the afterlife are
Buddhist, or were developed in reaction to Buddhism.
There are two main types of ritual: 1) funeral rites or periodic
rites on behalf of ancestors, which are performed only by some
sects, sometimes in tandem with Buddhist priests; and 2) rites
on behalf of local communities. Both types include rites to
install the ritual space, rites of fasting, rites of communion or

6. offering, and rites to disperse the ritual space.
The Taoist festival calendar represents an amalgamation of
various sources, and varies according to sect, region, and
temple.
Major festivals last for days, from two or three up to seven or
more. A two-day service may involve fifteen different rites
corresponding to distinct texts, each rite lasting from one to
several hours. Typically each of these rites consists of these
stages: purification, invocation of the deities, prayers,
consecration and offerings, hymns, dances, and perambulations.
Week 5
Shinto
Shinto practices were first recorded and codified in the written
historical records of the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki in the 8th
century. Still, these earliest Japanese writings do not refer to a
unified "Shinto religion", but rather to a collection of native
beliefs and mythology
Shinto is the "way of the gods" - and Shinto gods and goddesses
are called kami.
In Shintō, it is commonly said that “man is kami’s child.” First,
this means that a person was given his life by kami and that his
nature is therefore sacred. Second, it means that daily life is
made possible by kami, and, accordingly, the personality and
life of people are worthy of respect.
They don’t believe in absolute right or wrong and they
acknowledge that nobody is perfect. They view humans as
fundamentally good, with the evils in the world being caused by
troublesome and devilish kami
the concept of salvation is based on the belief that all living
things have an essence, soul or spirit known as "kami." Rather
than living in a glorified Heaven, kami live among us. Some
kami are more powerful than others. Some are even deified. But
all kami must be honored. People who die violently, lead
unhappy lives, or have no family to care for their kami become

7. hungry ghosts, causing trouble for the living.
Humans become kami after they die and are honored as
ancestral kami with some families actually having little shrines
in their homes.
There are many Shinto practices that are rituals that happen
year round. Purification rituals are an essential part of Shinto,
the purpose of most Shinto rituals is to keep away evil spirits,
purification, prayers, and offerings achieve this.
The main Shintō rites and festivals are for celebrating the New
Year, child birth, coming of age, planting and havest, weddings,
and groundbreaking ceremonies for new buildings
Week 6
Judaism
Judaism is a religious tradition with origins dating back nearly
four thousand years, rooted in the ancient near eastern region of
Canaan (which is now Israel and Palestinian territories).
The conception of God in Judaism is strictly monotheistic. God
is an absolute one, indivisible and incomparable being who is
the ultimate cause of all existence.
A fundamental Jewish belief about human beings is that they are
created in the image of God
In Judaism, all the evil in the world is either: 1) Made by man
and permitted by God because the evil is not worse than
reducing all of humankind to mindless automata. 2) An effect of
nature that God allowed because the alternative would be to
prove His existence by intervention, thereby eliminating free
will 3) Something that only seems to be evil from our limited
perspective, but would not be judged evil if we have all the
facts, these often become clear with sufficient hindsight,
although they often do not, as well
Judaism holds that they do not need personal salvation, as
Christians believe. They do not subscribe to the doctrine of
Original sin Instead, they place a high value on individual
morality as defined in the law of God—embodied in what Jews

8. know as the Torah or The Law, given to Moses by God on
Mount Sinai, the summary of which is comprised in the Ten
Commandments
Judaism includes belief in both heaven and hell, In Judaism; the
eternal destination for the righteous is Gan Eden (the Garden of
Eden). It is described as a place of great joy and peace while
eternal damnation for the unrighteous and evil ones is
Gehinnom (Gehenna in Yiddish) or Sheo'l.
The rituals in Judaism are: 1) Brit Millah: This is the covenant
of circumcision 2) Brit Hayyim/Brit Bat: This is a naming
ceremony for baby girls; it also takes place on the 8th day of
life 3) Bar Mitzvah: A ceremony for boys at the age of 13 4)
Bat Mitzvah: A ceremony for girls 5) Kiddushin: The Jewish
marriage ceremony 6) Funeral: Funeral practices vary within the
tradition
They have a lot of festivals and celebrations, which includes: 1)
March14 Purim (The Festival of Lots) 2) April 13-20 Pesach
(Passover) 3) April 25 Yom Ha Shoah (Holocaust Remembrance
Day) 4) June
2-3 Shavuot (The Feast of Weeks) 5) September 23 Rosh
Hashanah (Jewish New Year) 6) October
2 Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) 7)October 6 Sukkot (The
Feast of Tabernacles) 8) October 15 Simchat Torah (Rejoicing
in the Law) 9) December 16 Chanukah (Festival of Lights)
Week 7
Christianity
They believe the World was Created by God through soil (dust
and earth surfaces)
They believe in a Supreme, immortal, Almighty being called
God or Jehovah
They believe in the existence of God as their Supreme being

9. who alone exist on earth (the earth was shapeless), he created
and transform the Universe which Christians view from the first
day of creation to the seventh day of creation (Sabbath day)
They believe the reward for Evil is death, while the reward for
good deeds is eternal life, they believe that no sin goes
unpunished either you reap your evil immediately or later in
future or probably your evil deeds will affect your generations.
They also believe as a Christian you must avoid evil and do
good deeds at all times.
that once you are truly sorry for your sins and you confess it
before the Almighty God or going for Confession, you have
gained your salvation and that defines the Born Again of the
Christendom, They believe in repentance to gain salvation and a
total commitment of your soul and heart to God
They believe that there is life after this world, we are all
mortals and we all die one and give account of our life to the
Almighty God and if your name is not found in the book of life
you are condemned forever or till eternity while if your name is
found in the book of life, you will live till eternity to enjoy the
kingdom of the father
All Praises and Worship is considered as sacrifice to God and it
carried out in the Church mostly on Sundays.
There are lot of celebration like Christmas Period (The birth of
our lord Jesus Christ), Easter (Resurrection of our lord Jesus
Christ in heaven) and few other celebrations
Week 8
Islam
The Holy Qur’an is the book given to us by the Creator of the
Universe. Allah, (literally: THE God) which is His personal
Name, knows us best and is aware that humans can be very
skeptical creatures
Islam is based on monotheism. Tawhid, the oneness of Allah, is
an essential belief for all Muslims. Islam teaches that Allah, the
one god, has 99 attributes
According to the Qur'an, Allah "created man from a clot of

10. blood" at the same time he created the jinn from fire. Humans
are the greatest of all creatures, created with free will for the
purpose of obeying and serving God.
The Islamic definitions of good and evil are based on the
purposes of creation and the meaning of human life.
Accordingly, whatever brings a person closer to God and will
benefit him in the Next World is good, and whatever takes a
person away from God, and thus incurs His anger is evil.
The Muslim doctrine of salvation is that unbelievers (kuffar,
literally "those who are ungrateful") and sinners will be
condemned, but genuine repentance results in Allah's
forgiveness and entrance into Paradise upon death. The Qur'an
teaches the necessity of both faith and good works for salvation
Islam teaches the continued existence of the soul and a
transformed physical existence after death. Muslims believe
there will be a day of judgment when all humans will be divided
between the eternal destinations of Paradise and Hell
Thereligious ritualsofIslamare relatively few in number, but
great in importance. TheFive Pillars of Islam are five practices
regarded by all sects as essential to the Muslim faith. Other
notable Islamic practices include the mystical rituals of Sufism
and various distinctive Shi'ite practices.
There are two Islamic Festivals: Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha
Important days and nights in Islam are Islamic New Year, The
Day of Ashura, Day of Arafa, Laylat al-Qadr, Laylat al Raghaib,
Laylat al Bara’at, Laylat al Mi’raj, Alvida Jumma, Mawlid Al
Nabi, Kheer Puri Niyaaz

11. Week 9
Sikhism
A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism, a monotheisticreligion that
originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region.
Sikhism is a Monotheistic Religion, it preaches a God who is
nameless and formless and the entire human existence is
explained as the creation of that one God
Sikhs perceive human life as an opportunity to merge with the
divine will, Sikhism teaches that Kartar created the universe in
one command and cares for it; The Sikh ideal for human life is
to live within the divine will
Everything that happens is Hukam, the will of God (Waheguru).
People should live their lives in obedience to God’s will, God
created everything and gave people free will, and Suffering is
not inflicted directly by God but is permitted by God as a test of
courage and faith, There is a divine spark or soul, which is part
of God, in everyone, The soul lives through many different
forms of existence before being born into a human body, Only
humans know the difference between right and wrong, Good
actions do lead to good karma
In order to attain salvation one must live a honest life and
meditate on God. Sikhism shows the way to attain salvation and
become One with God.
Sikhs do not believe in an afterlife in either Heaven or Hell.
Sikhism teaches that the soul reincarnates when the body dies
The Sikh believes: in deity, reincarnation, goal, caste system

12. and code of conducts
The Sikh practices include worship, prayers, and temple
There festivals include: Parkash Utsav Dasveh Patshah (January
31), Holla Mohalla (march 17), Vaisakhi (April 13), Martyrdom
of Guru Arjan (June 16), Phalia Prakash Sri Guru Granth Sahib
Ji (September 1), Bandi Chhor Divas(Diwali) (November 9),
Guru Nanak Gurpurab (November 22), Martyrdom of Guru Tegh
Bahadur (November 22)
Week 10
Modern
Religions
There are lots of religion in the whole and all have its origin
e.g, Christian, Buddhists, etc
There are supreme being that exists in all religion and must be
respected
Human beings must be in a position of creating a just
environment that ensures comprehensive existence of
individuals (Shoko, 2007). Human
In all religion, there are repercussion for all good and evil
Salvation is an ultimate element while there are those that
salvation is on eath
There are mostly belief of life after death but not in all religion
All modern religion has its own practices and rituals at different
time and period and in different countries
All Modern religion has its own celebration and festivals in
different time and period in different countries.
REFERENCES
Radhakrishnan, S. S. (1947). Religion and society. London: G.
Allen & Unwin.
Shoko, T. (2007).Karanga indigenous religion in Zimbabwe:
Health and well-being. Aldershot, England: Ashgate.